


useless

by CeruleanShockwave



Series: my basketball boys [2]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Hyuuga doesn't help, Izuki Shun's Puns, Izuki feels left out, M/M, sad Izuki
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-23
Updated: 2019-01-21
Packaged: 2019-08-27 17:36:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16706926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CeruleanShockwave/pseuds/CeruleanShockwave
Summary: maybe it's that hyuuga identifies better with kiyoshi. maybe it's the fact that hyuuga feels kiyoshi did more to get him back into basketball, helped him more - and that's certainly true, kiyoshi has done more for hyuuga than izuki ever has or will. (he ignores the little voice in his head that says, 'you gave up basketball for hyuuga, because he needed you to be at the new school' and replies to it, 'sure doesn't seem like he did.')or maybe it's just him. izuki knows his habit of making puns certainly doesn't help; hyuuga just finds it annoying, but he can't stop himself; it's in his blood.still, he's stupid enough to wonder when kiyoshi replaced him as the constant in hyuuga's life.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [gravixxx](https://archiveofourown.org/users/gravixxx/gifts).



izuki watches bitterly as hyuuga laughs, head thrown back, sunlight dancing along the graceful curve of his neck.

"shut up, idiot," he says to kiyoshi, but izuki can see that he doesn't mean it. there is no angry or malicious look in his eyes like there is when he tells izuki to "shut up."

he knows it is wrong, but izuki can't help but feel jealous, angry.

 _he's_ the one that came to seirin so that hyuuga would have a familiar face with him. he could've just as easily gone to kaijo, or fukuda sougo, or kirisaki - 

izuki stops himself right there with a self-deprecating chuckle.

he picks up his bag, heads to the door to leave.

as he is at the door, he turns back.

hyuuga still hasn't noticed he is leaving.

angry tears come to izuki's eyes, and he wipes them away hastily, nearly running out of the classroom.

* * *

izuki eats quietly on the rooftop. the rice balls taste bland in his mouth.

'balls taste bland, huh,' he chuckles a little to himself. 'even if it's a little dirty, that's a good one. i should refine it a little,'

his mood sours when he remembers hyuuga hasn't even realised he wasn't sitting at their usual table like always.

but then, it's only natural, isn't it?

after all, kiyoshi is a much better friend than izuki has ever been to hyuuga - much better than he ever will be to him.

_he never needed me anyway._

the knowledge sinks into izuki's heart.

it's so heavy, but it's just so wonderfully freeing. his chest feels tight and light all at the same time. izuki can't decide whether he wants to laugh or cry.

he ends up choosing the latter.

silent, salty tears run down his cheeks as he forces each mouthful of the food down, forces himself not to just puke it all back up.

 _i'm sorry, hyuuga,_ he wants to say.  _sorry for being so useless as a friend._

maybe now it's time for shun to pull a kuroko. time for him to just...

disappear.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

_something is wrong,_ hyuuga thinks as he eats his lunch. _it’s like something is missing._

“hey, hyuuga,” kiyoshi says, waving a hand in front of his face. “are you okay?”

hyuuga says through his food, “yeah. it just feels kind of weird.”

“what feels weird?” asks riko.

“it’s like-” hyuuga gestures to the table. “something is missing.”

riko and kiyoshi share a glance.

hyuuga looks at them.

“what?” he says irritably.

“nothing,” kiyoshi says all too quickly. “it’s nothing.”

hyuuga snorts, waiting for the pun that is no doubt to come –

but it doesn’t.

hyuuga looks up, the question on his lips when he notes the conspicuously empty seat to his left.

and then he freezes.

_shit._

it’s _izuki_ that’s missing.

hyuuga jumps up, forgetting all about his food.

“i have to go,” he gasps, running out of the lunch hall.

\--

_where is he?!_

hyuuga is starting to get annoyed. izuki is nowhere to be found.

in desperation, he stops a girl – a first-year whose knees are knocking together – and asks her, “have you seen izuki shun?”

“i think i saw him go to the roof,” she says nervously.

hyuuga’s breath hitches.

_shit, shit, shit._

he runs like mad, climbing the stairs three at a time.

“izuki!” he yells, bursting onto the roof.

he sees the boy eating quietly. _onigiri,_ or rice balls, like always.

hyuuga snorts mentally as he remembers the dirty jokes izuki had made when riko brought fresh rice balls to practice for the team as a reward (thankfully store-bought).

“izuki,” he says again. “what are you doing up here?”

izuki turns to him, black eyes flat and dull, so unlike their usual sharpness. “i could ask the same of you,” he says monotonously.

hyuuga rolls his eyes. “it’s only natural that i come to find you. what’s not natural is you coming up here.”

izuki’s back tenses, and he turns back around to continue eating. “it’s nothing you need to know about.”

hyuuga presses his lips together. “you’re my best friend. i’m supposed to know.”

izuki actually snorts at this. “last i checked, you were too busy chumming around with kiyoshi and riko to think about me.”

“i what?”

but it’s true, hyuuga realises. it’s true. when was the last time he really talked to izuki like he does with kiyoshi? when was the last time he called him for a game of streetball?

when was the last time he was really izuki’s _best friend?_


	3. Chapter 3

izuki continues to eat, ignoring the stabbing ache in his chest, the urge to cry more. he cannot weep now, not in front of hyuuga junpei. 

"izuki," hyuuga says hoarsely. 

izuki ignores him and shoves the last of the bland rice down his throat. 

"izuki, i - i'm sorry. i didnt-"

"realise?" the harsh retort is out of izuki's mouth before he can stop himself. he loves hyuuga, he does, but right now he's angry, and he's sad, and his captain is doing nothing to help. "seems to me you never do."

"you're right." and it's not even the words that shock izuki into turning around and nearly dropping his lunchbox off the roof, it's the tone in which they're said, quiet and accepting, and almost remorseful. and hyuuga is never remorseful in relation to him, so why -

"i hadn't realised how much i was ignoring you, how hurtful i was being... 'cause it's got to be hurtful, right? being told to shut up, and die every time you open your mouth? i guess i was being an asshole... and i'm sorry." hyuuga continues, body tight and tense .

izuki is now staring in open shock at hyuuga, hyuuga the man who never apologises, not for anything.

who just apologised to him, head down, hands fisted, in such a sincere and candid voice, in such a  _hyuuga_ way that it's endearing.

and he suddenly can't be mad or sad or hurt anymore.

_because hyuuga is the boy he loves, and that's just the way it is - you can never be mad at the one you love for too long._

so izuki picks up his bag and follows hyuuga downstairs, and their walk is filled with silence. not an awkward silence, but one of understanding. 

\---

a few days pass. it's almost like normal, except izuki doesn't make any puns. he knows it's just going to be the same thing all over again, so he shuts up and bites his lip every time one comes to him.

this results in some rather strange noises, and some rather strange looks from the rest of the team. koganei even goes so far as to ask if izuki is actually going to change into an animal sometime soon.

he merely shakes his head and ignores the urge to make a bad pun about how humans are animals anyway. 

a week goes by, and one day after practice hyuuga suddenly says, "oi, let's walk home together. i haven't seen your mom in ages."

izuki half smiles. hyuuga loves his mother's cooking.

they walk quietly, savouring the breeze. it tousles izuki's straight hair a bit too much for his liking, but he doesn't mind - it's a nice evening, and the wind is in his face, and he is with the person he's loved since he was twelve.

eventually, hyuuga says, "you haven't made any puns."

this, if anything, jolts izuki. "i what?"

"you haven't made any puns." hyuuga repeats, and the reply is strangely lacking of his usual bite. 

izuki arches an eyebrow. "i thought you didn't like them. i don't want a repeat of the roof incident,"

"i always said they were stupid," hyuuga mumbles. "but i still liked them. they're kind of what made you you."

izuki frowns and puts his hand to hyuuga's forehead. "are you sick?"

"no!" hyuuga pushes his hand away and glares. "i just - it's just, i guess i kind of miss them? and i kind of miss the old you, the one who would make such terrible jokes at every opportunity."

izuki feels a smile tug at his lips. 

_you asked for it._

"but i'm a guy. shouldn't you mr. me?" he says teasingly. 

and to his surprise, hyuuga throws his head back and laughs. 

izuki grins even wider. 

_somehow, somewhere, he is on top of the world._

 


	4. Chapter 4

the next day, they're getting celebratory food after a good practice match against meiho - of course, it's at maji - and riko says fondly as she watches them eat, "you boys are all animals."

"i like animals," kuroko says in that bland way of his; you can never tell if he's being serious or not.

izuki worries his lip, then tentatively says, "your favourite animal must be the kurokodile," 

and to his surprise, kuroko's eyes light up. 

"that wasn't bad at all, senpai," kagami chimes in with a grin. 

"oh, you said something like we told you to?" koganei exclaims. "thank god izuki's back to normal." 

"shut up," hyuuga mutters. "i talked to him because i wanted to, not because you told me to."

izuki feels his cheeks warm a little at hyuuga's open words. it's silly to think that he might like him back, but it's still nice to hope. 

"it was strange," continues koganei, wrinkling his nose, "you looked like a constipated dog every time someone made a pun-worthy comment."

izuki almost chokes. "constipated dog?!"

kiyoshi grins. "sorry, izuki, but it's true. a more accurate description, though, would probably be 'constipated monkey'. since humans are apes and all," he adds thoughtfully. 

izuki really does choke this time, clapping a hand over his mouth to prevent spitting his drink out. "i do _not_ look like a  _constipated_   _monkey!"_

"all right, all right," says tsuchida, ever the mediator. "stop bothering the poor guy."

everyone shuts up then, because you do not annoy team mom. it's the team mom rule. and an angry tsuchida is not something you want to deal with - hyuuga and koganei made this very interesting discovery last year (izuki still shudders at the memory). 

soon, furihata gets up, stating that he can't miss cello class, and some friendly ragging ensues before he leaves. gradually, the others also find excuses to go, until it's just hyuuga and izuki left at a long table meant for many more people. 

another customer comes over, followed by a party of about ten people, and asks, "if you two are going to stay longer, would you mind awfully moving to that seat?"

"sure," hyuuga says before izuki can open his mouth, and drags him over to the much smaller table meant for two. it's a cosy little window booth, and izuki rubs the foggy glass with his hand so he can see outside. 

"it's dirty," observes hyuuga with a grimace. "don't touch it."

he grabs izuki's hand and places it on the table, putting his own on top for emphasis. 

izuki feels a hot flush rise to his cheeks, staring at hyuuga's palm on top of his.

he almost asks if hyuuga is  _trying_  to make him explode like a pressure cooker, but bites his lip in time. 

"hey, what's wrong?" hyuuga says in a lowered voice, intent grey eyes focused on him. he reaches out, brushes hair out of izuki's eyes with a careful hand.

does he - could he -

izuki's breath catches a little in his chest, swelling with hope.

hope that is punctured like a balloon as soon as he sees his friend staring at a cute server.

as he remembers hyuuga is straight.

"she's cute," he mumbles.

"yeah," hyuuga says quietly. "but i know someone cuter." 

"who?" izuki can't help but ask. 

"they've got black hair, black eyes and a lady-killer smile."

izuki freezes. 

 _he's_ the only person hyuuga knows who has black hair and black eyes; and the idiot has always said he has a lady-killing smile.

hyuuga grins, and izuki suddenly can't take it anymore. 

" _you,"_ he says furiously. "you should just _tell_ me you're straight and keep moving on, because this is killing me! i might love you, but you can't play with my feelings like this!"

hyuuga looks surprised for a second. 

then, "you're like your puns."

izuki stares, shocked into stillness. 

"i  _what?"_

"you're like your puns. stupid."

the black fire of fury rises up in him again, and he starts, "if you're just gonna insult me-"

"i'm not  _done_ ," hyuuga says with mild irritation.

then a blush blooms on his cheeks, and he dips his head, and he mutters, "you're stupid, but that doesn't mean i don't like you anyway."

and izuki's heart, that's been racing at 150000 miles per hour, stutters abruptly to a stop.

"you - you what?!" he nearly shrieks.

"keep it _down,_ " hisses hyuuga. "people are staring,"

izuki looks around to realize that people are, indeed, staring, and he waves them off with a (hopefully) sheepish smile, then turns back to hyuuga. 

"you like me? like, you wanna hold my hand and go out on dates, and - and stuff?" he says, just to be sure.

" _yes,_ " hyuuga says impatiently. 

izuki's world spins, trying to accommodate this new knowledge that he never thought possible. 

and then, slowly, a grin spreads across his face. 

he leans forward, takes hyuuga's hand, jerks the other boy towards him, and smiles wider. 

"can i do this, then?" he whispers, and leans in. 

he hears a gasped ' _yes_ ' before his mouth covers hyuuga's own. 

"so, are we boyfriends now or what?" hyuuga asks brusquely. 

"yeah," izuki says with a light smile. he slips his arm through hyuuga's own, and is somewhat evilly pleased to see a blush bloom across the captain's face. 

"i guess that means you call me junpei," hyuuga says, looking away. 

"okay, junpei," izuki says with a smile.

they walk in silence, until they reach izuki's house. 

"goodnight, junpei," he says, and leans up for a quick kiss. 

hyuuga smiles at him as they break away.

"i love you, shun."

"i love you too,"

it seems like the perfect ending to a fairy tale story - but it's not. 

for they both know that this is only the beginning to something amazing. 

_for izuki knows that he, and his love, are not useless anymore - they have never been so._


End file.
